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A new smart card system being tested by London Transit this month will allow riders to tap a card to pay fares, instead of using tickets, passes or cash.

A select number of passengers have volunteered to test the cards during two months.

Once fully rolled out, the new system will become both an electronic pass and a pay-as-you-go card, with riders able load their card or buy tickets and passes.

“It really does redefine how our passengers pay for the services,” said Larry Ducharme, general manager of London Transit.

More than two years in the works, the system cost $3.7 million, including card readers for the entire bus fleet.

“What you’re changing is pretty significant . . . It’s not a little project,” said Ducharme, who expects the system will pay for itself in savings over eight years.

Amanda Stratton of LTC Bus People, an online transit advocacy group she founded, is following the smart card system. She says it will reduce environmental waste and improve convenience, which she hopes will draw in new customers.

For London Transit, the payoff will come from data gathered by the new technology to improve service, said Ducharme.